Author: Erin Beaty
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Published Date: June 28, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆
REVIEW
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. The cover of this is one of the most strikingly beautiful that I've seen in quite some time. I won't lie when I say it was the main reason that I requested this from NetGalley, although not the only reason. I love a good genre mix, and it had been a while since I read a fantasy/murder mystery. That, along with the cover, was enough to make me want to read it.
SYNOPSIS
"Rising above the city of Collis is the holy Sanctum. And watching over its spires is Catrin, an orphan girl with unique skills—for she alone can spot the building’s flaws in construction before they turn deadly.
But when Catrin witnesses a murderer escaping the scene of his crime, she’s pulled into the web of a dangerous man who will definitely strike again. Assigned to capture the culprit is the mysterious, brilliant, and enigmatic Simon, whose insights into the mind of a killer are frighteningly accurate.
As the grisly crimes continue, Catrin finds herself caught between murderer and detective while hiding her own secret—a supernatural sight granted by the moon, destined to make her an outcast, and the only thing that might save her and those she loves from becoming the next victims..."
MY THOUGHTS
There were some things I liked about this and some things I didn't. Let's start with the good. First of all, this is one of the most striking covers I've seen in quite some time. It is both beautiful and haunting and it immediately made me intrigued. I also very much enjoyed the Selanae people. It was very interesting that a group of people could draw power from the moonlight. I do wish we had more time spent on this aspect because I feel like we barely touched this but it had so much potential to bring this book to another level. Instead of just being pushed to the side, I think the magic aspect should have been more leaned into.
I also thought the world building was quite good, especially for a standalone book. A lot of YA fantasy are able to spread the worldbuilding throughout 3 or so books and Beaty was able to squeeze a lot of cool aspects into one. It also didn't feel too info-dumpy and instead the explanations were able to be woven in organically. The world felt lived in as well.
Now for the things that didn't quite strike the cord with me. I thought the actual mystery was very interesting, although it was rather easy to figure out who the killer was. I did not like the romance. I swear YA books just throw in romance because they "should" have them, but Simon and Cat felt so incompatible. I don't enjoy forced romance subplots and this definitely would have been better if they were simply good friends. The plot also tended to drag a bit, which slowed down the forward movement sometimes.
Overall it was a middle-of-the-road read that, while I feel it had a lot of potential, it just didn't utilize it to create anything I hadn't read before. I still enjoyed it, but it was reminiscent of many other books that I've read in the same genre and age range.
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